This is a report on a volunteer concert held in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture on Saturday, March 3rd.

Hello everyone. I am Tomizawa (older brother), a volunteer musician. This time, I would like to report on the volunteer activities that took place in Ishinomaki City on March 3rd.
Oh, why did I choose Tomizawa (older brother)? Actually, I have a younger brother in the Tohoku Youth Orchestra (hereafter referred to as TYO), so I added (older brother). If you are interested, please check out this website.
If you are reading this report for the first time, you may be wondering what a volunteer performance is, so let me explain first.

Volunteer performances are performance activities planned and carried out by TYO members themselves. This year, in order to hold volunteer performances, the crowdfunding section and the volunteer performance section are working together, but both sections are run by members, mainly university students. Volunteer performances are solicited from members, and based on those requests, the volunteer performance section conducts on-site inspections and meetings to carry out the performances.

This time in Ishinomaki, the event was organised at the request of third-year trumpet student Nakamura Yuto, who played a central role in volunteer performances in Ishinomaki in the previous two years.
We gathered at Sendai Station at 8:30am and are heading to Ishinomaki today! Thank you to all the members for gathering on time despite the early morning.

In the morning, Nakamura acted as our guide and we visited Okawa Elementary School in Ishinomaki City. Okawa Elementary School was severely damaged by the tsunami and is often seen in the news, but this was the first time for many of our members to visit the area, and they listened intently to Nakamura's talk.

In Nakamura's words

"Please use your imagination when listening to this. There is nothing around the current elementary school, but before the earthquake there were many houses. However, they were swept away by the tsunami and many students died. Please think about that carefully."

I was impressed by what he said.

After completing the morning itinerary, we arrived at Caritas Ishinomaki Base around noon, and upon arriving, we were greeted by a fragrant smell...

There's even curry rice!
Thanks to the generosity of Caritas, we were treated to curry rice, which was absolutely delicious.
Everyone said it was delicious and ate it all up in no time.
After lunch, I went to see the venue where the performance was being held, and since March 3rd was Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day), there was a beautiful Hina doll on display.

After lunch, we went through the rehearsal process to confirm any important points, and then it was time for the real thing!

This time we played a lot of popular songs, mainly songs by Misora Hibari, and everyone sang along with the music, creating a warm atmosphere overall.

After the performance, everyone took a photo together!

Just like the last time we were in Minami Sanriku, everyone looked very happy.

After the photo shoot, we held a tea party (called "ochakko" here) which also served as a social gathering for all the guests and members.
Everyone, both the audience and the members of the group, were chatting happily and the atmosphere was very warm.
We took this tea break to ask some of the customers who came today for their impressions.

"They played a lot of songs that everyone knows and can sing, including popular songs, and it was so much fun listening to them that I ended up singing along. I hope they will continue to come to Ishinomaki if they have the opportunity."

And the concert was a great success.

Next, we asked Nana Takahashi, a third-year university student who plays the viola and was participating in the voluntary concert for the first time, about her impressions of the event.

"Not only did we have a large audience, but everyone was so friendly and it was so easy to play and fun! Also, it was great to get closer to the audience at the social gathering after the concert. I'd like to participate again next year!"

He answered with a smile.

Next, since TYO has a rare member from Iwate Prefecture, I asked him, "What if we had a volunteer performance in Iwate Prefecture?"

"If I'm going to perform in Iwate Prefecture, urban areas like Morioka and Kitakami are good, but if I can perform, I'd like to go to coastal cities like Ofunato, Miyako, and Kamaishi."

He replied, "Yes."

Until now, we have not been able to hold a volunteer concert in Iwate Prefecture, so as the volunteer concert organizer, I would like to do my best to back up this event and make it a reality!

Now, here is a summary.

As I mentioned briefly in my previous report on the volunteer concert in Minami Sanriku, there are broadly two types of volunteer concerts.

One is to increase TYO's name recognition, promote crowdfunding, and communicate our experiences to the outside world.

The second type of concert is one in which members travel to coastal areas to perform, and not only perform, but also visit the disaster-stricken areas, allowing each member to think about the earthquake, and this is what this time was like.

Approximately 90% of TYO members are from inland areas, and even though they experienced the shaking of the earthquake, few of them have actually seen the tsunami or visited the disaster area. Therefore, we believe that it is our mission as volunteer performers to create an opportunity for as many members as possible to see the disaster area with their own eyes by having such an experience at the volunteer concert.

Many of the members who participated commented, "I knew it in my head, but actually seeing it with my own eyes and listening to the local people changed my way of thinking." This shows that it is important for members to see the local area, and that it is a valuable opportunity to change their "preconceptions."

Memories of the earthquake will fade, the affected areas will change, and the reconstruction will eventually come to an end. However, it is important that as many members as possible listen to the voices of the towns and local residents in the midst of reconstruction, think about the damage caused by the earthquake, and spread the message not only through TYO activities but also through their future lives. We believe that this is an important aspect of TYO's activities.

This year's volunteer concerts were all finished with this performance in Ishinomaki. This year, we performed a total of four times in three cities.

As for next year, details such as the location have yet to be decided, but we would like to continue with volunteer performances. As for locations, we would like to start activities early on in many locations across Japan, not just in the disaster-stricken areas.

TYO may be coming to your town next year!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Finally, we would like to thank many people for their cooperation in this year's volunteer concert, including Latobu Co., Ltd., project "M", San San Shopping Street, and Caritas Ishinomaki Base, and we also received support from many people around the world through crowdfunding.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude.

Thank you very much.

Tuba: Yuta Tomizawa (3rd year university student, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture)